Observations
by alkyone
Summary: Well... Let's say it's AU put in the world of astrophysicists, heliophysicists and radio astronomers. Mostly about Kaito and Aoko, but other couples would also be metnioned. Chapter 3: someone is jealous. Friendship and Romance.
1. The taste of chocolate

**AN: **Blame the beauty and freshness of the spring day, because in other case I wouldn't have enough courage to put it here. It's the first part, but I'm not sure how much parts this story would contain. I'm still far away from the best authors as... (insert the well known names), but well at least I could make a try to be half as good as them...

Hugs for all of you who see that story (that part actually) before and tell me so many kind words about it – kisses for all of you. Special thanks for **MyMelo-chan** and **Shadow-chan** who interfered with that chapter almost from the beginning and thanks to them it's written in more English than it was before.

Any questions? I will try to answer them at the next chapter (I have an idea, so it's a chance that it will be written). From some technical point of view... The place where Aoko and Hakuba are working looks similar to that (yes, all the spaces have to be removed): http: / / epsrv . astro . uni . torun. pl / ~ep / praktyki / 2004 / holografia / zdjecia / seria7 / orig / dscf0011 . jpg

And the place where Kaito and Shinichi are working is (also all spaces need to be removed): http : // epsrv . astro .uni . torun . pl / ~ep / praktyki / 2004 / holografia / zdjecia / seria2 / orig / dscf0009 . jpg

And Aoko's telescope looks like that (yes, spaces aren't necessary): http : // www . optyczne . pl / tmp / 424_dsc06001 . jpg

I hope there wouldn't be any problems with those pictures.

I think that's all!

Oh, wait! **I do not own Detective Conan and Magic Kaito. If I was, Kaito and Aoko would at least kiss at that school trip to the mountains.**

Have a nice reading *smiles*

* * *

**Observations**

**Chapter one – The taste of chocolate.**

Cold air filled the room. A funny thing, because room was so small, that all three computers should warm it enough. They didn't. When the dome was opened, and telescope made its observations, cold air from the room above, pushed its way through the floor into the control room below. The truth was, that the most leaky was an installation of telescope, and especially the pillar, which was a heart of construction holding a telescope. And the pillar went through the control room as well.

It still was warmer than upstairs, in the room with telescope.

Aoko, who had just went into the control room from there, took off her gloves, hat and coat. She needed to move the telescope to set it in the other target. But now she was again in front of the computer, hoping she could be somewhere else.

Aoko loved her job. She loved spending her time in front of computer's screen, making lots of calculations, calibrating her observations and making graphs. She really did. But sometimes, in night like that she felt terribly alone. She would even appreciate a company of Kaitou KID, and that meant she really was desperate.

OK, maybe not so desperate.

Aoko sat on her chair and faced the screen. The last picture was saved and it was time to make a test picture on new coordinates. Aoko typed an appropriate command into the terminal, setting an exposition time of a picture. She remembered that at the beginning it was hard to use to the terminal. For most of her life, she was using windows' applications, with lots of useful buttons, which helped her to do what she wanted. And now the only communication between her and a computer was a small command line.

Aoko sighed. She really did love her job. Just today she was in a strange mood.

Or it would be better to say, that everything made her angry. Even that soft sounds of auto guider, which allowed the telescope to trace an object, according to its movement on a celestial sphere. Even that quiet buzzing of a fan in system unit. And it was all theirs fault. Well it was quite rare situation when Aoko blamed almost all of her friend for her bad mood. Usually it was _his_ fault, but today _he_ also was a victim.

And all problems had started in the morning when Ran had announced that Shinichi had proposed to her. Today's morning was one of the rarest occasion when all of them could meet. Aoko hadn't had any observations the night before because it had been snowing, so every part of the sky had been covered by clouds. She had been able to go to sleep earlier than usual and had got up today in the normal hour. And that had meant that all friends could eat breakfast in the canteen together. Ran and Shinichi immediately had used that situation to announce their engagement, and then it had started. No one had said anything in particular, but for all day Aoko had felt strange looks on her. Like everyone had expected a similar announcement from her.

And she and Kaito were only friends.

Aoko had no idea if Kaito felt that same pressure on him, as she felt on her, but even if he did, he wouldn't say a word about that.

She hoped that she would feel relieved when she finally got into the observatory. No more looks, no more pressure. But it wasn't true. For the whole day there was something in the atmosphere, which reminded her that she was alone. No dates, no boyfriends, just Aoko and her friends.

Well, maybe she should date with Saguru when he had asked her out. He was gentle and polite astrophysicist, and observer just like she was. And Aoko liked him, she really did. It was just... Well just "like", nothing more.

And why the hell they gave her to understand that she and Kaito should date. They were friends. Just friends. And there was nothing in their relationship, which could remind that what was between Shinichi and Ran, or Heiji and Kazuha.

"Stupid Ran and Kazuha." Aoko muttered under her breath, thinking about a few stupid suggestions which both her friends had given to her on last girls' party. And the suggestion to "seduce Kaito", which had been very graphically described by Kazuha, still made her blush.

Aoko sighed and looked at the picture on the screen. Nothing special, just an ordinary galaxy. She decided to increase an exposition time a little, and typed a command to take a picture. It didn't take long to wait for a result. Aoko looked at the picture for a long while, studying ever piece of it. Just to be sure, if exposition time wasn't too short or too long.

No, everything seemed to be fine. She sighed and reached for her coat.

It was even more freezing upstairs then it had been before. Aoko felt like her breath would turn into crystals just after leaving her lungs. She should take a hat with her... And gloves...

Aoko unlocked the telescope, and began to shift it in the new position. A cold metal almost burned her fingers. She swore few times that she had missed her gloves downstairs. Holding a telescope firmly, she moved it slowly. Despite its weight it wasn't hard to lead it. "God blesses the new technology." Aoko muttered, looking at coordinates on the scale. She looked up, to be sure, that she didn't have to move the dome more, and a big tube of the telescope almost slipped from her grip.

A figure clad in white was sitting on the top of the dome. His insolent smirk made Aoko's blood to boil. She would throw a telescope at him, if it wasn't so heavy. In a blink of an eye she thought about throwing the small telescope which was mounted aside. But she resigned, knowing that if she did that, she would have to mount it by herself again. And her abilities to use a screwdriver were far from perfection.

"What a lovely evening we had, don't we?" KID commented calmly, looking at her with big, annoying grin.

Aoko ground her teeth, while she was immobilizing the telescope. It was three in the morning, that was really hard to call this 'evening'. Not to mention that evenings usually were warmer than that.

Aoko glared at KID, wrapping her coat tighter around her. KID's cape was fluttering in the wind. Wasn't he felt cold?

"What are you doing here?" she hissed angrily.

"I cheer my favourite astrophysicist." KID answered, bowing.

"Really? I can't see how." Aoko said, looking back. She began to scan the surroundings in the presence of a mop. She was sure she had seen it when she had been here last time.

"Oh, I did it successfully." KID said, landing in the floor gracefully. "And now I'm here."

Aoko's eyes turned on him in a second. "Are you suggested I'm not your favourite astrophysicist?" she asked angrily, taking his comment as an insult.

KID's grin grew even wider. "I didn't know you care." he answered with amusement.

Aoko saw a flash of red, and before she knew it, she was swinging something stiff into the thief's direction. She didn't even remember when did she pull the steel element of the dome construction out. Fortunately that rod wasn't so important and the dome stood still.

A look at the thief, and the chase began.

Aoko forgot that she felt cold. After a few minutes of chasing that damned thief, she was bathed in perspiration. Her coat was lying on the floor, and she wasn't even sure when she felt that warm, to pull it off. Not to mention that she even stumbled on it few times.

KID was a lot faster than she was. And he seemed to predict her every movement. Well... It was harder than it seemed. True, the room was round, and there was a telescope in the middle, but the room wasn't empty at all. There was a quite big, box shaped device, to control movements of the dome. And a low ladder... and few chairs... and a small desk... and four round, wooden boxes, with the diameter about 70 centimetres, which contained prisms to the telescope.

Praying that KID wouldn't touch the boxes with prism, Aoko chased the thief from one obstacle, to another.

For her luck, KID left the prisms alone, but her heart stopped for a moment when she saw him jumping into the direction of the telescope.

She squeaked, feelings a strange weakness in her knees. This telescope was a very expensive toy. Did he lose his mind?

Aoko froze. Her fingers clutched the rod tightly. She didn't event want to imagine what would happen if KID made just a scratch on the tube. And loosing her job was the less unpleasant thing.

But when a laugh filled the air, Aoko began to breath again, and numbness in her fingers was vanishing slowly. KID was sitting on a counterweight, and with that annoying grin he was swaying his legs. That was enough. Aoko took a big swing and run towards him.

It looked like he didn't care. He still was sitting on his place, and he was even leaned his elbow in the higher part of the counterweight, to feel more comfortable. His grin was still at its place.

And before Aoko's weapon hit his thick scull, taking a revenge for every time he had annoyed her, KID smiled to her. "It's dawn already." he noticed, matter-of-factly.

Aoko immediately turned her gaze from him to the sky, and cursed.

He was right. The skies began to change from deep black, to the navy blue on the west and purple on the east. She didn't do a part of her observations. How she was going to tell that to Hakuba. They divided the observations between themselves, and it looked that she didn't finish her half.

"Damn you, KID!" Aoko cursed, turning her gaze at the thief, just to see that the counterweight was empty. She looked around, but there were no trace of white fabric anymore. She sighed and put the rod on the desk. She needed to set the telescope into the vertical position, and then she had to close the dome. After that, she could get back to the worker's hostel.

Aoko checked if she had all protocols with her. It looked like there wasn't anything left. Computers were turned off, there wasn't anything to do here anymore. She put her coat up, took her cap in one hand, and the keys in the other. She opened the door and found herself face to face with her best friend.

"Kaito...?" she asked with surprise in her voice.

He grinned. "How's your observations tonight?" he asked politely.

"That was very lame." Aoko noticed coldly. "Sneaking as KID and interrupting my work." she added. "You know that your protocol from tonight's observations is as empty as mine in the morning hours?"

"Yup!" Kaito answered. It seemed that he wasn't worried because of that. Aoko only shook her head. She could expect that he reacted that way.

"Did you really had to get here to annoy me?" she asked with a little trace of anger in her voice.

"Hey, I wanted to warm you a little." he said, smiling.

An indignation made her speechless. Kaito still smiling, took the cap from her hand. He brushed her hair, and put the cap over her ears, to make sure she wouldn't catch a cold. It was something soft and so gentle in his motions, that Aoko felt her cheeks blushing.

She looked at her feet intensively. Even if a while before she was freezing again, now she would feel hot. She wished she could open few buttons of her coat, but she knew that if she did that, Kaito would tease her.

"You know, you could always bring to me a cup of hot chocolate." she noticed, trying to sound calmer than she felt.

He was so close to her.

"That would be boring." he answered, taking her hand.

She blushed even more, but Kaito began to walk, pulling her with him.

"But if you insist." he said. There was a puff and Kaito handed her a cup.

She looked inside suspiciously, but smell of chocolate and vanilla, eased her suspicions. And it tasted like chocolate. It was so sweet. And a trace of vanilla, she felt on her tongue, made her smile. She didn't even remember how many times they were arguing about vanilla in hot chocolate. Kaito always wanted just a pure chocolate taste, while she liked to add vanilla in her own cup. It balanced the spicy sweetness of the chocolate.

"How did you keep it hot?" she asked, looking from a cup, to her best friend.

He smiled. It was a soft smile filled with something she couldn't recognise, but she like it. She like that in his smile and in his eyes, even if it was hard for her to call that emotion. It made him look... happier.

"It's a secret." he answered with a wink.

"Obviously." Aoko muttered, drinking her chocolate, before it would cool. "You want a sip?" she asked.

He grinned, and Aoko handed him the cup, without asking any more questions. He was drinking with his eyes closed, like he wanted to feel the taste even more intensively.

"Vanilla." he complained, giving back her cup.

"So why did you add vanilla there? You knew that you would drink it, didn't you?"

"Yes I knew." he confirmed, and smile to her. "But it was made for you."

* * *

"How that suppose to happened?" Saguru asked the next day, pointing at the blank places in the protocols.

Aoko felt like she got a reprimand. Hakuba was her supervisor, and she felt like a small child who just broke a very expensive vase.

And it was all this baka's fault! Aoko groaned inside.

"I fell asleep." she lied, timidly with a little embarrassment. "I'm sorry."

She was sure, Hakuba could see through that little lie, but he wasn't able to prove it. Or that was she thought.

"Has that something in common with blank places on Kuroba's report?" he asked, taping his finger on the empty column.

"How do you know?" Aoko was too surprised to denied.

Hakuba and Aoko ware the astrophysicists, but Kaito was a radio astronomer, that meant Hakuba couldn't see his protocol just by a coincident. He had to see it because he wanted to.

"It was too obvious to not check that possibility Aoko." he said matter-of-factly. "You can do whatever you want in your private time, but observations aren't your private time." he reminded.

Aoko sighed. "I know." she agreed. "Look, I'm sorry. He just come to warm me up and we lost..." she cut off when she saw Hakuba's face. He wasn't angry, he looked disgusted.

"What?" she asked. "We just..."

"I'm not very willing to hear about the details." he said coldly.

She then realised that Hakuba thought that she and Kaito were... What? Why? Were he nuts?

Fine! If he was going to think that, she wouldn't care. She was tired of explaining for everyone that she and Kaito were just friends. Kaito was greatest best friend ever, she knew she could always count on him, and she also do everything she could to help him if he needed it. But she knew well, that he didn't care about her that way.

No matter how much she would want it.

After saying what he had to say, Hakuba left Aoko with guilt and confusion written all over her face.

And little annoyance.

It wasn't her fault, after all. Well not entirely.

And obviously Shinichi wouldn't be mad at Kaito, that he didn't do his part of observations. Well both of them were radio astronomers, but Shinichi wasn't so pedantic with keeping to a schedule. If some observations were missing, then they shifted them to a next day.

At least Aoko was sure, Hakuba wasn't share his conclusions with anyone. He wasn't the gossip type. So there was still a hope that Shinichi had no idea that she didn't complete her observations either. So maybe he didn't associate her with Kaito's lack of observations...

She sighed and made her way towards the canteen. She wasn't hungry, but she needed a coffee.

And the whistles from their usual table convinced her, that Hakuba wasn't the only one who got the wrong conclusion. She ordered her coffee, and went to her friends.

Shinichi and Heiji had large grins on their faces, and Kaito was pouting. Ran and Kazuha were nowhere to be seen, so Aoko stopped for a moment. At least girls were great with making the boys to stop teasing. On the other hand it was Kazuha who had suggested her "to seduce" Kaito. One look at the boys and Aoko wasn't even sure if it wouldn't be better for her, if she ran away.

The whistles sounded even louder, and Aoko knew, that if she ran away, they would tease her forever. She got to the table, and put her cup on.

* * *

"Sorry for them." Kaito said as first. "They are idiots."

"I know that." she said.

"But I bet you have no idea who is the biggest idiot." He said and pouted.

"You?" she asked sarcastically.

"Hakuba." Kaito answered, still pouting.

Aoko watched him with bewilderment. "What?"

He blushed slightly which make Shinichi and Heiji laugh. It looked that Kaito didn't hurry with explanations, so Heiji shifted and moved towards Aoko.

"Hakuba was here a second before you. And he hissed that he absolutely forbade to have sex with his coworker during the observations."

Aoko opened her mouth to say something, but she found herself lacking of words. Hakuba really thought they had sex? And even if he did, she was so sure he would kept his mouth shut, that Heiji's words was like a little earthquake. She could swear she knew Hakuba well enough, to net expect that things from him.

"You're joking, right?" she had to ask. She couldn't believe that Saguru really did that.

"Come one, Aoko, look at his face." said Shinichi pointing on Kaito. "Would he look like that if Hakuba didn't say it?"

He got a point. Kaito was blushing, and it wasn't his normal act. So that meant, Hakuba really...

Heiji grinned. "You didn't hear the best part yet." he said.

Kaito stood up, and grabbed her arm. "Come on, I think it will be better if we just live now..."

But Heiji wasn't going to allow her just go. He took her other arm, and kept her firmly on her place.

"The best part." he began, looking at Kaito. "Was when Kuroba suggested that if you two was really having sex, he wouldn't get his reports so early."

Aoko turned around. She was now so close to Kaito, that she could felt his breath on her lips.

She wanted to be angry, because his reply didn't help at all. But again, Hakuba wasn't act fair, and to be honest, it was really amusing... Besides, he did tell Hakuba, that they didn't do anything, message was clear. And even if she really did want to be mad at Kaito for his stupid comment, she couldn't. His small blush was still visible and it looked somehow cute that all her anger went away in a second. One look at Heiji's face and she couldn't hold it, she burst into laughter.

She sat back on her seat, and wrapped her palms on her cup, still smiling.

All in all live wasn't that bad. She doubted that Saguru would have more claims regarding to her work, so even if she wouldn't make every observations she planned, world wouldn't end.

* * *

******AN2: **The next chapter will contain a few flashbacks... And view will be mentioned at the beginning: http : / / epsrv . astro . uni . torun . pl / ~ep / praktyki / 2004 / holografia / zdjecia / seria4 / orig / dscf0023 . jpg


	2. Memories in the winter night

******AN: **If you read the first part and get here I hope you won't be disappointed with that chapter. It may be nothing new but it's served with the world of astronomy and I hoped that makes it a bit attractive. Oh just look at that pictures, the first one is the same I mentioned after the first chapter:

http : / / epsrv . astro . uni . torun . pl / ~ep / praktyki / 2004 / holografia / zdjecia / seria4 / orig / dscf0023 . jpg

And here is the picture with the view at two telescopes. It could be similar to the view Aoko and Kaito was watching, it's just from the other side, so the bigger radio telescope is closer... And this picture was taken at the sunset, not at night, but I'm sure it's easy to imagine the view in the night... Here:

http : / / www . astro . uni . torun . pl / rt4 / gif /rt4 _ k14n . gif

Special thanks for Shadow-chan, who checked that text before I put it here, and for Butterfly-chan, who drew so cute picture of Kaito warming Aoko, that it gave me the inspiration for that part. I wish she publish it somewhere so I could put a link here, and everyone could see that picture too.

Oh... And have you seen the OVA 10 movie? It's fantastic *fangirl mode on*Kaito is soooooo cuteeeee! *fangirl mode off*

And now...

******Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho-sensei not for me, unfortunatelly. If they were mine, Aoko and Kaito (as Kaito) would show up in DC to vivify the action with their mop chase :D**

******

* * *

**

******Observations**

******Chapter two – Memories in the winter night**

Heavy darkness embraced the outlines of the equipment in the dome, leaking into every hole. The dim light of the full moon dispersed it only a bit, fighting with shadows, but failing. Coldness, brought by a strong wind, swirled at the edges of the door. It couldn't get fully inside, but it had already frozen the place it touched.

Aoko wasn't to happy. She hated to deal with the cold. And to make the matters worse, the electricity did not seem to be working; the dome was dark. She was forced to light up the scale with matches. The fire was burning her fingers, but it was nothing compare to that burning feeling she got, when she touched the telescope. New settings needed to be adjusted to the dome slightly, because now the telescope was pointing at the solid roof. Burning her fingers again Aoko found the appropriate lever, an pulled it. But the dome didn't even stir.

Cursing under her breath Aoko dragged the ladder to the exit. She was going to have to move the thing manually.

The air outside was even colder than it was in the dome, though Aoko couldn't even believe that was possible. The wind was more violent outside. It was sharp and it left the impression that it was cutting one's skin. Aoko shivered. She hated winter, she hated the cold and she hated the problems with the electricity. At that moment, Aoko hated her life. She hated her job!

Clutching the railing tightly, Aoko carefully stepped at the narrow cornice and slowly she began to move towards the heart of the mechanism. It took her some time to reach her goal, her foot slipping twice, nearly giving her a heart attack. Really, how could Kaito do it so easily dressed in all this white attire? Didn't he ever loose his balance?

The thought about Kaito induced her to turn her head towards the radio telescope.

She felt something warm inside her chest when she saw the huge, solid construction of the telescope. It was easy to locate it, not only because of the red light at the detector, but also because it was backlit from below. For someone who loved every piece of that construction, the view was simply breathtaking.

Despite the frustration caused by the cold, Aoko smiled softly. Carefully watching every curve of the dish, every piece of the frame, Aoko's thoughts drifted off to the time, she begin to watch the stars with Kaito.

**_Flashback_**

There was only one place where Aoko could hide so no one could find her. She was sick of the concerned voices of adults, the constant patting and hugs. They were so meaningless. It didn't sooth her pain. It wasn't going to bring her mommy back to her.

Aoko brought her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly. She felt cold inside despite the warmth of the summer's evening. She couldn't cry anymore. She had already used up her tears... Instead she just watched the skies, trying to forget that pain in her chest.

The sun had already hidden under the horizon, the few last rays were scattered above, brightening the purple skies down at the ground a bit. Aoko though saw nothing special about it. She just stared at it without paying attention to the simple beauty of the nature.

A head with tousled hair popped up from the window. Kuroba Kaito. His eyes, that usually held too much mischievousness for his own good, now held a look of concern.

"Wanna play, Aoko?" the boy asked slowly.

Aoko shook her head, not moving from the spot. Kaito didn't need another response. With one, swift movement, and with a cat-like grace, he threw his legs out through the window frame and got close to her.

"You can't spend every evening on the roof." he said, sitting next to her.

For a short while they sat in silence, Aoko turned her head away from her friend, she was crying again, and she didn't want him to see it.

As a six years old boy, Kaito felt awkward. He didn't like a crying Aoko, and he was smart enough to know that she was crying, even if he saw only her back. He wasn't deaf, he could hear her quiet sobs, as well as see her shaking figure.

"Oi... Aoko, don't cry." he said.

As quickly as he appeared on the roof, he was now facing her. She was looking down, her bangs covering her eyes, but he saw the wet traces on her cheeks.

He pulled out the deck of cards, and began to shuffle them slowly. He wanted her attention before he would show her one of the magic tricks his father had taught him the day before. He was sure that in ordinary circumstances Aoko would enjoy his little show with every fibre of her being, it wasn't a normal situation now, but he hoped that maybe... for a little while... she could forget her sadness. He needed her attention. Just a bit. If she just got a glimpse of his performance, her curiosity wouldn't let her to look away.

Slowly he began one of that tricks. He was sure, that soon she would rise her head, and watch it. And he was going to wait as long as he had to for her attention.

Cards began to disappear and appear in a puff of white smoke. Kaito still didn't know how to change the colour of that smoke. It didn't bother him before, but at this moment, he thought that it could maybe be better if the smoke was in some warm, happy colour. Like pink perhaps...

Aoko looked up when the ace of spades was dancing along Kaito's arm. She was watching it carefully. After a while something like a weak smile appeared on her face. It wasn't quite a big smile, but at least it reached her eyes.

Aoko brushed the tears away with the back of her hand. Slowly her weak smile became an enchanted smile.

"How did you do that?" she asked in amazement after he finished his show with a deep bow.

"The secret is: I'm just awesome!" he said a bit teasingly, with a hint of pride in his voice and she laughed.

That was the first real laugh, he had heard from her since her mother died. He was glad she was laughing. Then... He would become a clown if that meant he could hear her laugh... A clown, a magician, even an idiot, only to cheer her up.

They continued to sit on the roof. Kaito sat next to her, and this time she didn't turn her back to him. In silence, they watched the firsts sparkles appearing in the skies.

"They're beautiful." Aoko said, tilting her head up, to get a better view.

Her lips were slightly parted as she watched the stars in fascination. Kaito smiled, sometimes simple things could make her happy. He turned his head up just to find the view stunning.

"There's so many of them!" Kaito said in a surprised voice, as if this was his first discovery of stars.

Aoko giggled. He was so funny sometimes. Like he hadn't seen the starry night before... Her friend was so cheerful that she couldn't be sad with him around. The tight rim around her chest loosened and all colours seemed to be less pale.

Kaito gasped, and Aoko turned her head to him.

"Look." he said, pointing at something.

She followed the direction of finger.

A star, or something what looked like a star, was rising steadily, almost as if some invisible force was pushing it opposite to the gravity. Though at the beginning it was hard to notice it, for a moment it was clear that it become brighter and brighter with every second. In a while it was as bright at the brightest stars in Big Dipper, though just a while before it was barely visible. Even quicker it reach the brightness of Arcturus, the brightest star on the northern hemisphere in the summer (and Aoko's favourite stars while she was in college; but six years old Aoko, didn't know that yet). And it didn't stop...

Aoko watched the phenomena with her usual curiosity, but Kaito looked stunned. His eyes were glued to the star, his mouth opened. And that was really something, because Kaito didn't usually want to show his emotions. To anyone.

And then, it happened.

In a second, the star flared up like it was exploding. So brightly, like someone had put hundred of stars in that one place and let them shine for a fraction of second. The flare like a single firework.

A climax.

Both, Kaito and Aoko saw that the performance was nearing to end. The star began to loose its brightness, and the light slowly faded. It never stopped moving though, until it was so dim that neither of them could see it. At that time, they couldn't say if it was moving or not.

The show was over.

"What was that, a plane?" Kaito asked, still a bit amazed by the performance he witnessed. "Nah." he immediately answered himself. "Planes only twinkle... A shooting star...?" he guessed.

Aoko knew what they had observed. She had seen this once with her mother. She had been sick already, but they were watching stars from veranda. Aoko also considered that it was shooting star... But the truth was different.

"It wasn't the star at all." she said slowly.

The memories of the night with her mother, was still too painful for Aoko, to speak about them without the feeling of sorrow. Her mother had spent many nights with Aoko at the veranda. Many... Since she had known she had a cancer. But for Aoko all of them blended together. She had remember the warmth and safety of mother's arms, the soft tones of her voice, the warm blue of her beautiful eyes, and the sparkles... when she was with Aoko, she opened the door to the Universe for her... That Last Nigh, as Aoko called it, brought some knowledge to her from some different fields... From astronomy.

"It was an Eree- Erri- Iridium Flare." she said quietly. "The satellite."

"Huh? How?"

"I don't know. But I'm sure it was an Iridium Flare."

Kaito looked at her for a moment. She seemed to be a little sadder, but she wasn't crying. Which was good. He couldn't stand her crying. Aoko was always so full of life, that no matter what, he would always be happy when she was. But when she was crying... Kaito always felt like the world was crying with her. So he needed to cheer her up. He couldn't find the real motives of his actions. At 6 years old, the words "crush" and "love" meant something else. But Aoko was his friend, and she was also a girl, so he had to protect her.

He smiled at her.

"So then it's a flare." he said casually. "Stars are very interesting, aren't they?"

Aoko nodded, looking at him with a hope. He looked up, then for a while, back to Aoko.

"Let's watch them together tomorrow too."

**_End of flashback_**

She smiled to that memory. Though she had begun to observe stars when she was very young, it had been a while before she had decided to study astronomy. Just one evening, when she had walking back home with Kaito by her side. Stars had seemed to sparkle different than they usually do. Kaito had been so calm and relaxed that day... And then she had noticed how handsome he was, but not because of his blue eyes, or that mischievous smile. It had been something that had always surrounded Kaito, and that had made Aoko feel like home. Just by being close to him. And that evening, Aoko had decided that she had wanted to connect her life with Kaito and with stars.

"Stars are easier to tame." she whispered with a smile.

Apparently, they were still just friends.

A whistle from below almost made Aoko fall. She immediately remembered where she was. And with that she felt so cold. Although the wind wasn't that sharp anymore, the night air still hadn't warmed up. She shivered, held on tightly to the railing and looked down.

"Oi, Aoko...!"

He stood at the snow, and waved at her enthusiastically.

"What do you want?"

"Come down, I want to show you something!"

Aoko sighed, but something in his voice was so warm and enthusiastic, that she felt excited as well. Carefully she put her foot at the cornice, and, clinging to the railing, she moved towards the hole in the dome. This time, though she reached her goal faster than before.

She quickly got inside, and even quicker, she ran down the stairs, passing the control room and headed towards the door. Full of energy, she opened it.

"Kyaaa...!" Aoko shouted, trying to stop and not collide with her best friend.

He held her by the arms, and helped her to keep her balance before her nose hit his chin. She wasn't expect him by the door actually. Fortunately, his grip was firm enough to stabilize her. He was laughing though, and Aoko had a feeling that he would tease her for the next few days.

"What do you want to show me?" she asked, before he could commented on her clumsiness.

He pulled her by the forearm.

"You'll see." he said and that cheerfulness in his voice sounded very promising.

At the tip of her tongue she had a question where he was dragging her, but she decided to just trust him and go along with it.

They stopped in the middle of an empty field, between observatories, leaving behind them two pairs of footprints on the clear snow. There was nothing here which could shield them from the wind and Aoko again felt that unpleasant, sharp touch on her cheeks.

"So, what is it?" she became impatient.

It wasn't exactly the place where she wanted to spend too much time. Not in a night like that one, though she had to admit that the view was worth to look at.

It was a place where she could see two radio telescopes almost in the same line. The smaller one was shifted a bit to the left, and it was illuminated by the lights coming from steering room. It looked as if it was looming just in front of the building. Since that telescope wasn't used, the dish was set horizontal, so light from the control room wasn't reaching the detector. It ended at the curved surface of the dish; everything above was dark.

The bigger construction was far enough that the size of it seemed similar to that radio telescope closer to them. But comparing to it, this one was fully visible thanks to the lights aiming at it from the ground. Not to mention the little, red spot on the detector.

"Wow... It looks nice." Aoko said.

She had never seen those telescopes together in the middle of the night. Sure she saw them many times in broad daylight, but the view now was nothing compared to the one at the moment.

"No, that's not what I wanted to show you." Kaito said.

His warm voice next to her ear made Aoko shiver.

"Look at the place between those radio telescopes just a few inches above..."

"I can't see anything." she complained.

"Be patient." he said with a small laugh.

Aoko shivered even more. His breath on her ear, didn't help at all. It was tickling one of those very sensitive spots at her skin.

"Oi, you're cold." he stated, apparently interpreting her shivers that way.

Not that she didn't feel cold, because she did. And she felt his firm chest pressing against her back, and his warm, solid arms, encircling her figure in tight embrace.

"Better?" he asked, touching her cheek with his.

She wasn't able to say anything. She only nodded, slightly so as not to break the connection of their cheeks. She was sure her own cheeks were flushing, but it was dark around. She hoped Kaito didn't notice it.

She needed few minutes to use to his closeness. Her breath calmed down, and her heart stopped beating so fast.

She could get used to it. To his arms around her, to the sweet scent of roses mixed with sharp, yet soft scent of his aftershave, to the warmth his body was giving her...

Aoko felt a sudden urge to turn around in the circle of his arms, and hug him tightly, and bury her face in the soft fabric of his jacket.

And then his grip tightened, and she saw it.

The small, shining point, brightening with every move until the brightness reached its highest point.

The flare.

* * *

******AN: **And for a dessert, the link to the movie with the Iridium Flare... You can see by your own, that it's very hard to describe it to keep the beauty of that phenomena. In that move a camera is moving with the satellite, if you watch it live, you can see it's moving and it's even better...

So here: http : / / www . youtube . com / watch ? v = c9SFzwlzQvE

(Just to be clear, every space has to be removed from those links).


	3. A gift that comes from the hearts

**AN:**I know that not many people are interested in this one, and all of you are waiting rather for "Phantom Lady" update, but for all of you who like this little one romance, here it is another chapter. The one before last, to be precise. It took me some time, but here, have the un-brta-readed version of Observations. When one of my friends will have more free time and help me with correcting this text, I'll put the better version of it, so don't worry it's just the first approximation of the real chapter ;)

**Detective Conan and Magic Kaito aren't mine, I just borrow the characters :)**

* * *

It was raining.

At the beginning there were barely few drops, delicately moistening the grass. Little drops landed on the top of the grass blades, gracefully flowing down, smoothing every roughness of their velvet texture.

It was the warning.

They didn't have even the time to evaporate in the heat of this spring morning, when the real downpour began. Soft noises of waking nature were lost in falling rain.

Kaito groaned. His ears were too sensitive for noises, the rustle of rain sounded in them like theatrical whisper from very close distance.

He opened one eye, just to register that sun had to rose already since his room was brightened by its light. He would enjoy the morning, he usually did, but not after the very busy night. His schedule had been overloaded and he hadn't even had the time to visit Aoko.

Oh that would explain his bad mood. The day without teasing Aoko wasn't a day.

So not only tiredness, but also bad mood made him wanting to turn around and curl over the pillow sinking in some nice sleep again. And since this annoying sound was in his way to do that, Kaito decided that he needed to get up and close the window.

Slowly he moved in the covers, and not taking them off from himself, he stood up. Yawning Kaito reached the window. A soft blow was lazily moving the curtains bringing some fresh air into his bedroom. In fact it was not only fresh, spring air, but also nice and warm.

Kaito yawned again and opened the window widely, to take a breath.

And almost chocked when he saw the view.

The rain was pouring heavily, blurring the outlines and giving the foggy impression. The colours shortened their range to the scale of greyness. Green greyness of the grass and trees, blue greyness of the clouds and skies. Somehow that could make an outstanding impression, filling all senses with calmness and the feeling of being closer to the Mother Nature.

But it wasn't that what had caught Kaito's attention. Actually he didn't even notice the surroundings.

There was Aoko.

Dancing.

Under the shower of rain, in a fresh air, dressed in a simple yellow dress, which looked absolutely lovely on her, she was dancing. Barefoot.

She was so colourful into that greyness, that she seemed to not fit into the picture, yet her laugh was that thing which was missing to make the perfect art from that morning.

Kaito smiled. His gaze softened while he was watching his best friend spinning at the grass so happy and relaxed. Maybe it was rude, but he could only just stand and stare.

Pouring rain tamed Aoko's hair and made her dress fit close to her, showing every curve of her body, and her spinning gave full view in three dimensions. Her feet were moving skilfully and with a grace she hardly ever showed. Kaito couldn't recognise the dance, she was performing, but in that moment he didn't care. Just simply watching her made his heart to do some wild dancing in his chest. Just watching her made him happy.

And sad.

Because every more minute of observing his best friend, made it's obvious that this happy and relaxed she never was with him around, no matter how hard he was trying, or how fool he was making of himself.

His sleepiness now drifted away, though he felt even more tired then he was before. He closed the window and walked slowly to the wardrobe. His expression was blank, but the slowness in his motions could give a small clue, that he felt hurt. Or at least unsure.

* * *

This morning coffee tasted surprisingly bitter. Kaito had to put three more spoons of sugar to his cup to be able to take a sip.

At that hour canteen was full of live. Most of the astronomers were eating their breakfast before later lectures or, in case of heliophysicists, before their observations. Though considering the earlier rain and the fact that it was still cloudy outside, it was no point in observing the Sun.

Kaito took another sip.

He wasn't even surprised that none of his friends were here at breakfast. Shinichi and Ran were probably enjoying their free morning. In bedroom.

That though made him grin.

Heiji and Kazuha were probably preparing to lectures. They were theoreticians, which meant that they were teaching too. They probably had eaten their breakfasts earlier and now they should be explaining the nuances of pulsating stars (Kazuha) and pulsars (Heiji) to some poor students.

And Aoko...

Aoko should be sleeping now. Shouldn't she?

A sudden sound of her laughter made him shiver.

What the hell was wrong with him? He was now imagine her laugh. Sure it was nice sound, and it always made him smile. No matter how mad he could be, her laugh was contagious. But if he was going to hear this in his head...

With another so familiar sound Kaito realized that it was coming from outside. He was too surprised to hide the puzzled expression under the poker face. It lasted only few seconds, but for the person who was observing him from the beginning, it was more than enough.

Therefore when Kaito found himself at the window, he felt familiar presence behind him.

"Hakuba." he muttered.

That what all greetings he could afford at this moment.

"Nice to see you too, Kuroba." Saguru answered with amusement. "Isn't Nakamori-chan looking lovely on a bike?"

Kaito grated his teeth.

She did look lovely. With her hair following every blow of the wind, her cheeks reddened from the sharp air and her eyes sparkling she looked even more than just lovely. Which didn't look lovely, or rather who look awful was Hattori who she was firmly holding on. How the hell that could be happening? Hattori on his motorbike was perfectly fine, Hattori with Kazuha-chan on his motorbike were perfectly fine too! But Hattori with Aoko was absolutely out of the question! She... she... she could hurt herself! That clumsy girl was pretty able to fall from the bike and break a leg! Wasn't she thinking? Or maybe she was, that's why she was holding Hattori so close! Silly! Get of that bike instead of crushing Hattori's back!

"I'm pretty sure that Hattori is enjoying it much." Hakuba said, not looking at Kaito. "I bet he could feel her breasts pressing on his back right now."

He just had to say that!

Only the years of training allowed Kaito not to show too much emotions to that idiot detective. Just one death glare and flushing cheeks. Though he couldn't control the last one.

"Oh... aren't we jealous, Kuroba?" Hakuba asked teasingly.

True, the situation between him and the detective was always a bit... tense. It didn't help that Hakuba always tried to prove that he was KID, not that Kaito always felt a bit jealou... uncomfortable of him.

Between Hakuba and Aoko was always some strange relationship. At the beginning it had been the mutual hatred towards KID, now they were working at the same project and even if there was still that professional distance between them, Kaito didn't like the thought how many time they were spending in Hakuba's or Aoko's office discussing about the conclusions coming from the observations and calculations.

"I don't know how about you, but I am not." he said, trying his best to save his poker face.

But Hakuba seemed to get his answer. He smirked.

"She's having pretty much fun." he stated.

And then Kaito noticed it.

Aoko was laughing in the same way she was in the morning. She was happy and as relaxed as she had never been with him.

"I see." he muttered slowly, forgetting about Hakuba's presence, even the questioning 'Huh' from the detective didn't catch his attention.

So that was the case. Apparently someone could make her happier then he was ever able to do. And it looked that this certain someone was Hattori Heiji. He shrugged trying to look normally. Like he didn't care at all. Or even like he was wishing her happiness.

'_Yeah,__ happily __ever __after._' he mumbled sarcastically in his mind.

Was he able to deal with her laugh aimed to someone else? Was he able to keep his poker face in the presence of Hakuba?

Somehow it was funny in some strange way, how fragile his poker face was when it was about Aoko. No matter how much he wanted to remain cool, he felt that his hands were shaking slightly. For someone who was a professional with observing people's behaviours, this little fact couldn't escape his attention.

Stupid, knowing smile on Hakuba's face, it annoyed Kaito in an instant. To make matters worse, that good for nothing detective – astrophysicist tried to be funny and made a comment which froze Kaito's blood.

"It looks that it's not necessary to act like a clown to get her attention. For my taste Hattori got it as well, and he's the last person who makes an idiot of himself."

These poor insults, which in other circumstances would make Kaito chortle in amusement, only rose a small peel of his usual clown laugh.

"Well Guru-chan, it looks like you won't have to keep copying me to attract her attention..." He casually commented with a firm grin plastered on his face, blue eyes hardened into frozen ice to keep the fire braking inside him.

If this situation wasn't amusing him so much, Saguru perhaps would be mad. But Kuroba's easiness was so perfect that it was impossible to be true.

"You know Kuroba. I think you need to update." He said with a mysterious smile and looked back at the couple outside.

Aoko was trying to convince Heiji to let her drive his bike, and judging by his expression, letting Aoko drive was the last thing he wanted to do. Kaito smirked.

Though Aoko was very attached to her first car, that rusty, tiny, old Mazda 323 BG, she never leaves the occasion to check its limit. Everybody knew that Aoko was a mad-woman when she was driving. For someone who loved his bike that much that he would polish its surface to the sparkling brightness, it was quite understandable that he was rather resistant about giving it to Aoko.

But then something suspicious happened.

Aoko leaned over Heiji's ear, whispering something with a hopeful look in her eyes. Heiji's determination seemed to suddenly melt like an ice in a sun beam, which was clearly shown on his face. Finally he laughed a bit foolishly and scratched the back of his head. And he agreed.

Hattori Heiji allowed Aoko to drive his bike.

The world definitely was going to end.

"It's a bit risky." Hakuba commented watching Kaito carefully. "Does she have a driving license for motorcycles?"

_'No'_Kaito thought. The fire inside him froze at the though that things between those two down there must really be serious if Hattori allowed Aoko to drive his bike. But his poker face showed a clearly uninterested, even a bit bored man.

"How I'm supposing to know?" He asked calmly. But his voice cracked with a bit of impatience. "Despite the common knowledge we don't know everything about each other."

"You can't deny that you know Aoko better than we." Hakuba admitted with a really strong suggestion.

"Well it's obvious, we're friends. We have known each other for much longer then we knew any of you." he said ignoring this suggestive tone in Hakuba's voice. "You don't have to worry about her though." he added coldly. "She'll be fine."

"I'm rather worried about Hattori's bike." noticed Hakuba with an amusement.

'_Very __funny __Hakuba_' Kaito muttered mentally. He wasn't sure what made him so annoyed inside. If it was seeing Aoko so happy with ANOTHER MAN, or if it was because of this idiotic conversation with Hakuba. It wasn't matter though. It was high time to take care of both things.

He looked at Hakuba with a look of a bored man.

"Very funny." he said eventually in a tone which meant that it was the poorest joke that he had ever heard. And to make it more clear he even yawned.

Perfect aim. Hakuba made a wry face and glared at Kaito.

"I have some work to do." he added casually, taking a step back. "Have fun." he added, turning around.

Hakuba sighed, no matter how clever Kuroba could be when he was avoiding to be catch as Kid, or how great scientist he was, he still was his dense classmate. He really needed update. A small smile appeared on his lips. He was very well informed why Aoko chose to spend her morning with Hattori. With one word he could ease all suspicions the magician could come with, but... it was so easy to tease him when it was about Aoko. Well she would tell him anyway, there was no need for him to do so. Besides, he promised Aoko to keep his mouth shut.

Down there at the courtyard Aoko thanked Heiji with a hug.

* * *

Kaito spent most of his morning and afternoon working.

It was his way to ease his mind, and forget about everything what he had witnessed this morning. In his way to the office he had entertained himself pulling some pranks at his co-workers, who had seemed to not share his view and instead of laughing they had called him as "an immature bloke". He just couldn't help it, mostly because he wanted to show Hakuba, who had seen him with his first victim, the young doctor from Stellar Spectroscopy, that he wasn't affected by what they had seen through the window. And the rest was like a chain reaction. He had saved only Shinichi who had come to his office at the afternoon, but it was only because he had been already buried deep in programming, and he had wanted to finish this part of algorithm before a heist.

Locked in his own room Kaito prepared himself for the heist. No, he wasn't changing. His Kid's stuff was safe in Jii-chan's hands. Hardly ever he risked to take his costume in here. Only for a special occasion like to make Aoko angry.

He grinned and his grin faded.

Now when his mind wasn't occupied by strings and variables, it was bringing him the picture of his best friend laughing. So happy, so carefree, so... so not like with him.

Kaito shook his head and grabbed his car keys. Last look, just to check if everything in his room looked like he just take a shower and go for a walk after that, and he was already out. No matter how foolish it looked to make an alibi, he knew that Hakuba was only waiting for his mistake. And knowing Hakuba, if he got his prove, even Kudou and Hattori wouldn't help him.

During his car drive to Tokyo he again couldn't get rid of the memories of the morning. Road was empty and his mind instead of focusing on driving, went towards Aoko's happy face and the things Hakuba had told him.

Kaito might not show any hint of jealousy, buy it didn't mean that he wasn't jealous. Because he was, and this fact annoyed him even more. It was just Aoko, his best friend, a girl who he knew for almost all his life, and still, she was only his friend. Just friend.

It was something in this word that taste bitterly. People expected them to be actually a couple, which always make Kaito mad. '_You __can't __be__ a __friend __with __a __girl __without __being __suspected__ about __romantic__ relationship._' On the other hand in Aoko's case the word '_friend_' made him even madder. He wasn't just her friend, he was practically her older brother. He knew her better then anyone, including Aoko herself. He could read her mood right in the moment he saw her, he knew when she felt down, even when she tried to pretend that everything was alright. He knew that actually she loved the institute and the whole centre and that she felt more comfortable with this small room and cabinet in this place then with her three bedrooms flat in Tokyo. He just know her. He cared about her. He loved her...

Like a brother.

The street lights which appeared in his view announced that he reached his destination. In the city he had to be more careful and he shouldn't let his thought wander. Soon he should reach the place where Jii-chan was waiting for him.

* * *

Another working night.

Aoko typed the command and took the picture of the flat field. She already made biases and darks, and few flat fields too, this one was last, and she finally could start looking for real objects.

"Now. Done." she muttered grabbing her coat.

It was pretty nice spring already, but nights were still cool, ans she preferred to wear something more than just a warm jumper.

It was a routine for her. Adjusting the telescope, block its position and she was already downstairs, pouring a coffee from a flask to her mug. In a second the small room filled with a refreshing scent of the freshly made coffee. Her eyes, which were looking around a while before, now stopped at the mug. She smiled softly. It was a present form Kaito. Simple white mug with a little blue bow at the bottom, just like in Kid's hat. And when you took few sips, you could see a little monocle drawn in the inside and a sentence _"__I'm__ watching __you._". Aoko loved this mug and not only because it was from Kaito, but mostly because he had given her it just because he had felt it. He even had said that he hadn't need any occasion to gave her anything, and that he had bought this to her, because he had thought that she would find this one funny.

She sighed in contentment and took her first sip of coffee. She felt a little bitter taste on her tongue. She wasn't a big fan of coffee, but working at night she learnt to appreciate it's waking power.

She sat down. She had a job to do. Just one more thing, and she was ready to exploring the space. She turned the radio on. The soft music in the background helped her to concentrate, but it was the other reason she wanted to listen the radio this day.

Kid's heist.

They were always broadcasting it on a radio. And while she was working it was the only source of information for her. For now she let the music flow through her ears. As long as heist didn't start, she didn't have to divide her attention to the skies and her friend.

Just when the radio informed that Kid appeared on the hall and was about to steal the necklace, Aoko heard a loud knock. She went to open the door while excited voice was describing the way Kid took the necklace in a possession with every detail. She expected that Hakuba brought some new report forms or maybe a new schedule, but it wasn't Hakuba.

"May I come in?" asked Shinichi, seeing that she was too surprised to invite him.

"Ah... sure." she answered, moving from the door.

Shinichi took a look at the staircase, but followed her to the control room. He grinned at the view of her mug, especially that she had already drunk enough liquid to make the drawing of Kid's monocle and the inscription visible.

"I thought you may listen to it." he said pointing at the radio.

Aoko pushed the other chair nearer to him. He thanked her with a nod and sat down.

"You don't come to listen the radio with me, do you?" she asked suspiciously.

He laughed. Funny how similar Shinichi and Kaito looked and how much his laugh differed from Kaito's. It didn't hold so much warmth as Kaito's laugh used to.

"No." Shinichi said, watching her carefully. He smiled to her, like he knew what she was thinking. "It's something wrong with your boyfriend."

"Don't call him that." Aoko protested almost automatically. "Kaito and I..."

"Did I say Kaito?" Shinichi asked with a grin, his brow furrowed.

Aoko blushed a little. Of course she jumped over the conclusion right away. People used to treat them as a couple, even Kaito's mom was treating her like a daughter-in-law. But of course her conclusion was like admitting her feelings aloud.

"As I said it's something wrong with him." Shinichi continued. "He made half of the institute mad acting like a high school student again. You should talk with him."

Aoko who in meantime typed command in the terminal and took the picture of globular cluster, now looked back at Shinichi.

"Why do you come to me every time when you have some troubles with Kaito's childish behaviour?" she asked with a hint of annoyance.

Shinichi observed her carefully. His fingers were brushing his chin, and Aoko knew him long enough to know that he was now trying to make some deductions.

"Oh, you're nervous." he finally shot. "He's a big boy, he'll be fine."

Aoko blinked.

"Well, you sounded annoyed, though I haven't say anything which could annoy you an instant. You're hands are shaking a bit, which I noticed when you were typing. And you seemed distracted. And honestly, I think there could be only one reason for this behaviour. Tonight's heist." he concluded. "No matter how immature he can act sometimes, he isn't in high school anymore. He knows what he is doing, stop worrying about him that much."

Aoko snickered.

"Well you waltzed here saying that there was something wrong with Kaito and now you told me to not to worry."

"Good point." he laughed. "But I am just telling you that he became extremely annoying lately, not that he can't do his job."

"But what if..."

Shot in the background interrupted her. Her head turned to the radio from where the shot was heard. Her heart was pounding like crazy muffling the announcer's voice. But she heard him saying that police was looking for the shooter, that Kid managed to escape with the necklace and that police is trying to follow him.

Aoko breathed. He wasn't shot.

She felt Shinichi's hands on her shoulders.

"They're shooting at him almost every heist lately." she whispered.

"He's not that dumb to go there unprepared, you know." he calmed her down.

"But he is dumb enough to go there!" she shouted.

"Now, now... You know why he's doing it Aoko-chan."

"It doesn't mean I would like to see him getting shot."

Shinichi turned the radio off and knelt down that he was facing her.

"He isn't fighting with them alone." he said firmly.

Aoko relaxed. He was right all that case for a long time was under the investigation of FBI, CIA, DIH* and Interpol. All his heist were planned in advance by the horde of masterminds including Heiji and Shinichi. She sighed with relief.

"Tell him." Shinichi suggested.

Aoko felt heat coming on her cheeks.

"W-What?" she stammered.

"Tell him that you're worried."

"He knows." she stated, feeling embarrassed. Obviously she thought that Shinichi was suggesting something else.

"Maybe he doesn't remember. And you can smack him for being a pain in the ass today." he added with a laugh.

Aoko smiled. He was fine, he was coming back...

"Okay, tell me what did he do today and I'll think how hard hit him." she agreed lightly, getting back to the computer screen.

* * *

It was almost morning when Kaito was finally back. Stupid shots, if not them he would be back much sooner. DIH had caught the sniper, and he had to be present until the last minute of the whole procedure. He felt so tired and hungry that he even forgot that he felt annoyed.

Deciding that he rather would go to sleep, Kaito began to undress. No sooner had he took of his shirt then someone knocked to his door. He didn't even has the chance to say a word, the doorknob turned and...

"Aoko?"

Aoko was looking at him without even a hint of embarrassment on her face, caused by the fact that currently he was shirtless.

"Awww, Aoko. Not even a tiny blush?" he complained.

She rolled her eyes.

"Like I haven't seen you without a shirt before." she said.

Kaito's eyes went from her face to the tray she was holding. There was a plate with _onigiri_ and a cup which smelled like a green tea.

"I thought you might be hungry." she said sheepishly, noticing what he was looking at.

Kaito looked at her surprised. Why was she acting so shy?

The images of her and Hattori stormed to his mind. The anger he felt at the morning came back to him.

"No thank you, I'm not hungry." he said coldly, his tone of voice was saying that he would prefer her to leave.

Something like sadness flashed in her eyes, and he noticed it. Thinking rationally Kaito should think that maybe he said it too harsh but he was far from rational thinking. He concluded that there really was something between her and Hattori and that was why she was acting so shy and she was sad... she didn't know how to tell him this.

"Do you want something else? Because you know it was very long day and I wished to go to sleep." he added with annoyance.

"Baka, why are you acting like that?" she asked angrily.

"Like what?" he asked casually.

"Don't give me the cold shoulder Mister. I'm not buying it."

"I don't know what are you talking about."

Aoko huffed, putting the tray at the table. She looked like she was ready to explode.

"You think only you had a bad day because of heist? Do you really think we're not affected?" now she was shouting. Her hands clenched in fists. "That listening the shots in radio is like nothing? And wondering how good was their aim this time? Do you really think that Kaito? I know you don't have easy job, and I bet no one would want to change places with you, but dammit Kaito, it doesn't mean that we don't care!"

She turned on her heel, and take a step towards the door. Kaito found himself behind her in an instant. He grabbed her by an arm.

"Who are _we_?" he asked firmly.

"Don't be dumber then you are. We all. Me, Shinichi, Ran, Heiji, Kazuha, Hakuba. All your friends."

Kaito's grip loosened.

"I'm sorry." he said with a sigh. "I didn't want to... uhm..."

Aoko took a deep breath. She was still irritated, but she at least didn't leave.

"It wasn't her, was it?" she whispered.

Kaito shook his head. His frustration was now clearly visible on his face. It was really so hard for him to keep his poker face in her presence. A voice in back of his head reminded him: '_Maybe__ because __you've __promised __her, __that __you __would __never __show__ her __your __infamous __Poker __Face.'_ He sighed. He couldn't be mad at her for long... Even if the thought that she felt happier with Hattori was making him crazy.

The warmth feeling of her hand in his snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked at her surprised. Not like he didn't use to her touch, but it was something in the way she was holding his hand which gave him a feeling of comfort.

"You will find her, I'm sure." she said certainly and squeezed his hand. "Come on, there is something outside which should cheer you up."

"Huh?"

"Don't give me that puzzled look. Just come." she pulled his hand towards the door.

"Oy Aoko, wait. Let me just put my shirt on."

* * *

"I've heard that you've made some of our co-workers life miserable today." she said with a small laugh when they were walking through the corridor.

There was so empty at this time, that even their quiet steps were echoing like they were dancing. Kaito has his shirt on and he was even wearing a jacket. Though Aoko was happy that she had come to his room when he was shirtless. That way she could be sure that there were no bullet wound on his torso. And no, there were no other reason why she liked him half undressed. Nope, not at all...

And she was happy that Kaito was now in a better mood then before.

"Don't tell me that they were complaining to you." he said sarcastically.

"No. They've sent a delegation." she answered with a laugh.

He chuckled. His hand held hers tighter. Though she had let his hand go for the moment he had been dressing up, her fingers had interlaced with his at the second they started to walk.

"Oh it was their fault for being such an easy target." he answered with a grin.

"Kaito, with your skills, everyone is the easy target." she said laughing.

He smiled proudly. But why his eyes were still holding a touch of sadness? Aoko tilted her head to take a closer look, but he turned his head and started to trace the pattern on the wall. He was clearly avoiding her gaze.

"Kaito..."

"What?" he whined.

Aoko wanted to ask what really was wrong, but she thought that this sadness was caused by tonight's heist and fact that one more time he had stolen the wrong gem. So she reminded silent knowing that there were no words she could say to make him feel happier. She just hoped he would forget about it for a while when he would see what his friends had prepared for him.

"Could you borrow me one of that shawl you're using to your magic tricks?"

Kaito looked at her with surprise, but in a puff he magically appeared what she was asking for. The blue one, her favourite.

"Thank you." she thanked him with a smile. "I hope you won't mind if I cover your eyes with this?"

"I'm getting suspicious about this." he said theatrically. "You, guys, don't want to have your payback now?" he asked taking a look around in order to check if there really wasn't anyone else in the corridor.

Aoko laughed.

"Baka. No one would dare to take a payback at you." she said cheerfully. "They are too much afraid of what you would do them as a payback for a payback."

"I'm not sure if I get you well, but..." he took a long look at her that way that she felt like she was naked. "I trust you." he said simply, leaning over her to make it easier.

Aoko need a moment to gather herself up. His breath on her cheek was very distracting but not as much as the look of absolute trust in his eyes. Aoko felt an urge to forget about everything, and for a first time in her life to follow this instinct, and forget about the consequences. Her hand unconsciously touched his cheek. She just needed to rise herself a bit, or just pull him closer. Few more centimetres...

"Isn't it too tight?" she asked, when she tied the shawl over his eyes.

"As long as it's not tightening around my neck it's fine." he grinned.

Aoko grinned back, and even if he couldn't see her, he still kept a smile on his face. She grabbed his hand, one more time this night and opened the door.

"Slowly, Kaito. I will tell you when we reach the stairs." she told him, leading him through the door. "Now. Can you feel the stair?"

He nodded.

Very slowly, Aoko leaded him down, and closer to the centre of the courtyard.

"Now, stop." she said, and he listened. "Are you ready?"

"I wouldn't want to be blind." he said seriously pointing at the shawl. "It really is weird to not see a thing... But... If I was, I hope you would be my guide." he finished quietly.

Aoko felt stunned. Her hand stopped in half of the way to the shawl falling freely on his shoulder and she felt her own body leaned over him to catch him in a tight hug.

"I too..." she whispered, her voice coloured with emotion.

"I know." he said cheerfully, returning a hug.

For a few seconds Aoko sunk into the feeling of safety, just like every time he was holding her in his arms. Every single time. But it ended too soon and once more she was caught in chillness of the morning air when he pulled back.

Aoko cursed mentally. She shouldn't let the feelings overwhelm her senses. She needed to focus and compose herself once again, stuffing the feeling she wasn't allow to feel, deep in her heart. Just next to the feeling of guilt for keeping secrets from the person that trusted her so much.

Maybe... maybe she should tell him. Maybe he would understand. But... What if she told him and he would start to avoid her. It was a bit selfish, but she didn't want to risk this. She didn't want to risk that he would stop smiling to her.

'_The __show __must __go __on_' she thought, and put a happy smile on her face, rising her hand to untie the knot and take the shawl off his eyes.

"It is for you." she said.

He was looking like someone hit him in the head. Hard.

"But this is... This is..."

The sun was rising.

Morning dew sparkled with a gold, like a million candle lights fluttering in the wind. A symphony of colours bloomed in front of them, blending the dark blue with purple and orange. Just in the right proportions. The shadow of the institute embraced them like a giant arms, but the centre of the courtyard itself was shining.

Chromium plated metal parts of Honda VTX reflected the golden rays, shining like a pure gold and keeping the motorcycle in some kind of extraterrestrial halo.

Kaito was looking at the bike with his lips parted. Like he wanted to say something but was lack of words.

"It's your birthday present." she said, touching the handle bar. "I know it's still April, but you've seemed to be so down yesterday, that I asked the rest if we can give it to you earlier."

"Is it really for me?"

"Yes, silly." she said warmly. "From all of your friends."

"But... But how did you get the idea?"

"Well it was my fault. See... you've always talked about flying. About the freedom that you can feel with when wind is playing with your hair, when you can see the landscape moving, but you wasn't locked in the box called as a car. I know it's not like flying, but I think it's the closest thing you can get on the earth." she said nervously. "You don't like it..."

"Don't like it?" he was surprised. "I don't believe it."

He moved. Slowly he touched the handle bar just to make sure it was real. And like he was afraid that it was his hallucination and his fingers would go through this.

"Really for me?"

Aoko nodded. His eyes were smiling to her again, he was smiling to her.

"Want to take a ride?" she asked. "I can drive, I had a lesson."

"You mean that when I saw you with Hattori last morning you were..."

"Ah you saw it... Yes I was practising." she admitted shyly. "In case you didn't know how to drive it."

For one moment he was looking at her, calculating something in his head. But at the next he was holding her in his arms, spinning in something which could be called as a wild dance. She felt a bit dizzy from the spinning, but she didn't mind because seeing Kaito that happy make her happy too. He put her back on the ground and hugged.

"Thank you." he said keeping her so close that she could hear his heartbeat. "I really had to be the pain in the ass yesterday." he stated releasing her.

She felt disappointed. Being so close to him felt so good. It always did, and always when they separated, she felt the same prick of disappointment.

"So, do you want me to take you for a ride?" she asked teasingly.

"No." he said with a smile. "The first ride should be mine." he said. "But I will be glad if you let me invite you as a passenger."

He offered his hand.

"With a pleasure." Aoko answered with the same smile, taking the offer.

* * *

**Omake**

Heiji woke up with a strange impression.

Like something tried to pull him out of his bed. Or perhaps a gravitation suddenly became weaker. That had to be this! He was always telling, that those strange experiments in CERN would finish with some natural disaster, and here they had – gravitation started to disappear.

"What am I thinking?" he scolded himself loudly, but he wouldn't open his eyes yet, hoping that he would be able to catch few minutes more of sleep.

He shifted in the covers to find a better position, and he felt that the gravitation wasn't the his problem.

Something was limiting his moves. He couldn't lift up his leg freely. Alright, it was high time to take a look at the situation.

"Whoa!" Heiji squealed.

What he saw, made it loud and clear, that the gravitation wasn't weaker today. Actually it was as strong as usual, and it was its force that was pulling him out of the bed.

Considering the fact, that his desk, his chair, all his equipment, and even his slippers and his carpet were now located on the '_ceiling_', he didn't need Einstein's brain to understand the situation he was now in. All his things weren't glued to the ceiling, as it could be guessed at first thought. It was his bed and he, that were glued to the ceiling.

That was the reason, that something was pulling him out, and that his moves were limited, since his covers were the only thing that kept him in his bed.

Besides, the position of the door and the window, gave the full answer, if he would ever have any doubts.

Heiji sighed.

What he had done to deserve that?

Honestly, he had a suspicion, that Kuroba had seen him with Aoko yesterday, and probably he had got the wrong impression, but... It was already too much! How the heck, he was going to free himself from that?

"Kuroba, I'll get you for it!" Heiji cried at the top of his lungs, desperately tring to free his arms at least.

* * *

On the opposite side of the campus, in the nearest park, Hakuba Saguru heard the scream that curdled his blood. He just went out to feed Watson, and was now waiting for the hawk to come, when someone shouted angrily.

Did he really hear '_Kuroba_' in this cry?

He didn't have time to debate about it, because in his view appeared something that couldn't exist. The shape was oddly familiar, but the general impression was just making Hakuba to question his senses.

Something pink was coming closer.

Hakuba dared to blink only when the shape, Watson to be precise, perched on his leathery glove, leaving no room for any doubts. From the top of his head, to the last feather in his tail, Watson was pink. And he seemed to be surprisingly content considering the fact, that all his feathers were dyed on that gaudy colour.

Was it even possible? To colour the hawk without hurting him?

Well maybe for others it wasn't, but there was one person, who could do impossible things as they were the easiest things to do in the entire Universe. But Saguru Hakuba wasn't going to be impressed. He looked at Watson, who was now biting him slightly, trying to catch his attention and he felt the wave of anger, shooting through him.

"Kuroba." he muttered through his clenched teeth. "I promise, I'll kill you some day."

* * *

**AN:** Speaking of observations (the real ones), I was hunting the aurorae borealis recently, since our Sun is pretty active this year, it's possible to watch this phenomena even when you're not live in the North or South Pole. I know that in my country from August the aurorae were seen three times or so, I've just missed it every single time. But since hope dies last, I'm sure I'll see it some day :) As I wish you too!

If you like this chapter, pleas let me know in review :)


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